Internal-combustion engine



J. F. MURPHY.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 91 I919.

1",377,139, Patented May 3,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

FIRING I J. F. MURPHY.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED- APR. 9| 1919.

1,377,139. I mented May3,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- -Illll I- l "I 151? Q T all whom it may concern:

; UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN FRANCIS MURPHY, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.-

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE. V I

Be it known that I, JOHN F. Munrrrr,

- citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county ofJ eii'erson and State of Kentucky,- have invented certain new andusefullmprovements in Internal.

Combustion-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

T his. invention relates to internal combustion engines and hasparticular reference to an improvement in motors of the type whichoperate without automatic ignition.

A primary object of the invention is to secure greater thermalefficiency in a motor of a standard construction by increasingcompression beyond the point of automatic ignition to enable the use ofheavier and consequently cheaper fuels, while at the same time greatlysimplifying the general motor structure. Although It has been heretoforeproposed to operate an internal combustion motor by injecting the liquidfuel into a cylinder Where the air is compressed above the pressuregenerated by the combustion of fuel in the inclosed firing chamber(Diesel type), this injection of the fuel has only been possible by theuse of a separate pump. And, furthermore, in engines of this type it isnecessary that the cylinders be of relatively great thickness, andneedless to say a power plant thus constructed is not only complicated,cumbersome, and expensive, but is impossible of embodiment in smallunits, and therefore impractical for general commercial use.

In internal combustion motors as. commonly built the thermal efliciencyof the motor is in direct proportion to the amount ignition takes place.Recognizing this the present invention proposes an improvementsusceptible of embodiment in all multiple cylinder engines of either twoor four cycle type, wherein the size of the cylinders is such that the'final compression of air is greater than that necessary where automaticignition is employed, but less than the pressure created by theexplosion of a similar fuel charge inan adjacent cylinder of similarcapacity. Thus, the invention contemplates the provision of an engine ofstandard design wherein the construction and arrangement is such that acondition existing in-the normal operation of the engine'may be usedto'cause the injection of the liquid fuel into a compressedatmosphere-for the purpose of being thereby ignited to give the.

desired working stroke to the piston.

Another object of the invention is to provlde a power plant which issusceptible "of embodiment in small units for vehicle use and requiresno gearing to effect a reverse drive. That is to say, it is proposed toprovide an engine of the type which may be conveniently used onautomobiles, and which includes novel means for changing the firingorder of the cylinders to reverse the direction of rotation of the crankshaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, practical and.reliable means for controlling the speed of the engine under varyingconditions of use without the aid of a carbureter, therby eliminating afurther source of trouble and article of equipment.

With the aboveand other objects in view which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consistsin' the novel construction, combination and arrangement. of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. -2

Apreferred and practical embodiment of Specification of Letters Patent.V Patent ed May 3, 1921.

Application filed April 9, 1919. Serial No. 288,763; i

the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: V Figure1 is a side elevation of a motor constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is atop plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a cylinder constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line H of Fig. 3.

- Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the vposition of the controlvalves when the" motor is being operated to give a forward drive.

Fig. 6-is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the position of the controlvalves when the motor is reversed. Sim1lar' reference charactersdeslgnate' corresponding parts throughout the several figures of thedrawings.

In carrying the present" invention into effect, it is proposed toeliminate the automatic electrical ignition system except possibly forstarting purposes when the engine is cold. The invention therefore isdirected to that type'of engine wherein the fuel is injected into acompressed atmosphere and there vaporized and exploded to give thedewith the type of engine wherein the fuel oil is injected into a volumeof compressed air which is compressed above the pressure generated bythecombustion' of the fuel in the firing chamber of an adjacentcylindern Inengines where the compression is frequently brought as highas forty-five atmospheres,

it is necessary that the fuel oil be injected into this highlycompressed body of air by means of a separate pump, and in this case thecombustion is not instantaneous with the injection of the fuel into thecompressed air but proceeds as the piston moves out to the end of itsworking stroke. The present invention however contemplates a novel construction whereby the final compression of the air in the cylinder isless than the pres sure of combustion on the working stroke in anadjacent cylinder, this compression however being greater than thatusually employed where an electrical spark automatically ignites thegaseous fuel charge near the end of the compression stroke.

By Wayof illustrating one practical structure for carrying the presentinvention into effect, reference 1 may be had to the drawings whichshowa motor'of the four cylinder type which operates on the two cycleprinciple. The cylinders of this motor are preferably of the generalstructure and arrangement shown in Fig. t of the drawings, and althoughshown as a water:

cooled unit, it will of course be understood that the invention may beadapted with equal efliciency to an air cooled unit, or to a four cyclemotor having sufficient cylinders to maintain continuity ofoperation.

-- The individual cylinders 1, 2, 3, and 4 are of duplicate constructionand the operative connections between the same are also identical.Therefore,'a description of -one will suffice for the others, and byreference to Fig. 4 it will be observed that within the cylinder Cslides piston P, the same coiiperating with the closed crank case 5 tooperate as a compressor to transfer compressed air at the end of theworking stroke through the port 6 to the working chamber of the cylinderand not only scavenge the same of the dead gases which pass through theexhaust port 7, but at the same time furnishes a fresh air-charge to 'becompressed for the next working stroke. ment described, obviously whenthe piston P reaches its upward limit of movement at the upper end ofthe compression stroke air will be sucked into the crank case 5 throughthe intake port 8 to be compressed on the worklng stroke of the pistonand then re-' With the arrangecylinder is provided with a dead gasoutlet port'10 at a suitable point above the exhaust 7. This port 10opens into a flaring recess 11 in the well of the cylinder which may beprovided with a screen 12 and a cover plate 13 which provides a conduit14 leading back into the body of the cylinder C to establishcommunication with the opening or passage 15, also covered by a screen16, which like the screen 12, prevents the transmission of flame fromthe combustion chamber of the cylinder through the passages 14 and 15.

The said opening 15 discharges into a passageway 17 of the valve-unit 9,which latter passageway is a part of a two-way control valve whichincludes the plug 18 operated by an exterior handle 19. This plug 18 isadapted to control communication between the cylinder on which it ismounted and an adjacent cylinder, and to this end has fitted thereto adischarge pipe 20 and intake pipe 21 which leads from the combustionchamber of an adjoining cylinder, while the said pipe20 leads to thefuel supply valve of the cylinder on the opposite side. For instanceassuming that the cylinder described is cylinder No. 1, the pipe 20 willlead to the fuel supply valve of cylinder No. 2 as will be obwill flowthrough pipe 21 to supply cylinder 1 with the proper fuel charge in theparticular manner hereafter referred to, while as cylinder 1 completesits working stroke the exploded gases will pass out through port' 10 andpassages 14, 15 16 and 17 to and through pipe 20 to supply cylinder No.2 with its fuelcharge at the proper point of the cycle, namely near theend of the compression stroke ofthat cylinder.

Referring to the means for supplying the fuel oil to thecylinder itis tobe observed .that the valve-unit casting 9 is also provided withthe'passage-way 22 leading to a sleeve 22 which provides an enlargedfuel accumulating chamber 23 that is normally closed by a puppet valve24 held to its seat against the mouth of the chamber under tension ofthe spring 25. This fuel accumu lating chamber 23 is in communicationwith a fuel passage 26 whose discharge end is guarded by ball valve 27for preventing back-pressure in the fuel supply system.' The upper endof the passageway-- 26 is formed with a suitable seat 28 foraccommodating the headof a needle valve 29 which is fitted with' anexterior operating handle 30 and controls the supply of fuel enteringthe supply passage of the casting 9 from a fuel supply tube 32 leadingfrom a fueltank wherein the fuel is stored under pressure.

The needle valve 29 is preferably set to allow a certain quantity ofliquid fuel under pressure to flow through the passage 26 in a unit oftime, and hence there is a certain desirable governing actiondue to thisfeature. That is to say, should the load on the motor be suddenlyincreased so as to slow down the rotation of the crank shaft there is alonger interval of time betweencycles in each cylinder, and more fuelwill have accumulated around the puppet valves between working strokes.This automatically causes greater pressure and consequently greaterturning effort at slow speeds. In other words, the power output-isgoverned, the action being that as the speed is lowered by increasedload or road conditions, as on approaching a hill, if the motor is usedin a motor car, the effective turning effort or torque of the motorwillbe increased so that the power developed will remain nearly constantwithin wide ranges of speed, and the thermal efliciency is greater thanis possible with a motor using a carbureted mixture and low compressionvarying with every position of the throttle.

The needle valves 29 are preferably connected by a common actuatingmember 33, whereby all of the valves may be given a uniform setting andwhen the valves are raised a certain desired distance from the seat 28in the upper end of the passage 26 it will be apparent that fuel underpressure will flow into the chamber 23 and there be held until releasedby the puppet valve 24;.

Now it will be recalled that the passage way 22 in the valve castingwhich leads to the chamber 23 is under control of the valve 18 and forthe setting of the valve shown in Figs. 3 and 4 this passage 22 is incommunication with the pipe '21 which leads from the working chamber ofcylinder No. 3 that is of the same construction as cylinder 1 shown inFig. 3 of the drawings. Therefore, as cylinder No. 3 performs itsworking stroke and its piston passes the port corresponding to 10 of thecylinder 1 shown in Fig. 3, the exploded gases will rush through thepassage corresponding to 14, 15 and 17 of Fig.3 and to the valvecorresponding to 18 on the top of cylinder No. 3 and thence through thepipe 21 to the valve .18 on cylinder No. 1 which will-deflect the sameinto the passage 22 and cause the puppet valve-24 to be unseated as thepiston P in cylinder No. 1 reaches the'proper point of its com ressionstroke to thereby'inject the liquid uel into the highly compressed air'in the combustion chamber. 'As the air has been previously heated byhigh compression to 'a point above the flash point of the fuel,

puppet valve 24 at once.

combustion begins immediately and the resulting increase in pressure inthe combus i will direct the same into the pipe 20 leading to the fuelsupply chamber of cylinder No. 2. This cycle is repeated in eachcylindex as long as fuel is supplied to the cham ber above the puppetvalves.

.lVith the foregoing arrangement it will be apparent that thedistinctive feature of the present invention is the injection of a rawfuel charge into the highly compressed air of a cylinder wherein thepiston is performing its compression stroke, whereby the fuel isautomatically mixed and burned to cause the working stroke of thepiston, which upon its" downward movement uncovers a port incommunication with the fuel supply means of an adjoining cylinderwhereby fuel will be released in that cylinder at the proper point ofthe cycle. The effect of the inert gasin the passages leading from theworking cylinder of one chamber tothe fuel supply chamber of the next tofire is substantially that of a piston since it forces the liquid fuelaccumulated around the puppet valve of each cylinder into the highlycompressed air 7 in the cylinder whereupon it is instantaneouslyexploded. The effect of this immediate explosion is to close or seat thepuppet valve to prevent continued movement of gases through thecommunicating passages, and furthermore, by the employment of a doublescreen 1n the passage leading from the working chamber of the cylinder,all possibility of flame being transmitted through the passage iseliminated. This safeguard prevents premature explosion of the fuelcharge even if oxygen of the air is present.

In connection with the control valves 18 which have the operatinghandles 19, it is to be noted that for the setting of the same shown inFig. 5 of the drawings, the firing. order of the cylinders will be1--24-'3 which will give the proper rotation of the crank shaft for aforward drive. However, when the setting of the valve plugs 18isreversedto the position shown in Fig. 6 of the. drawings, the firingorder of the cylinder will also be reversed, namely, 134-2,

suitable operating bar 34 or' its equivalent.

When it is desired to start the motor, the fly wheel may be rocked backand forth or turned over after a cylinder has been primed with a smallquantity of liquid fuel, or for the purpose of insuring easy starting ofthe motor, especially when cold, 'a spark plug inserted in the opening35 may be utilized.

However, after one cylinder has fired the continued operation of themotor is assured.

Without further description it is thought that the construction of thepresent engine is such that the distinctive feature of utilizing thecombustion of the gases on the working stroke to inject the raw fuelcharge into a highly compressed atmosphere of an adjoining cylinder maybe readily carried into effect without the use of separate compressorsor other cumbersome accessories which add to'the cost and complexity ofengine structure.

I claim:

1. An internal combustion engine includ ing a plurality of cylinders,means for supplying raw fuel directly to each cylinder, and meansactuated by the pressure of gases performing the working stroke of onecylin der to release the fuel charge supplied by said means into'the'compressed atmosphere of the next cylinder to fire.

2. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,means for supplying a fuel charge to said cylinders, and means actuatedby the pressure of gases performing the working stroke in one cylinder,to release the fuel charge near the end of the compression .period in anadjacent cylinder.

3. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,means for supplying fuel to each of said cylinders, means forcontrollingthe admission of fuel into .said cylinders, and a conduitleading from the combustion chamber ofseach cylinder'to the means forreleasing the liquid fuel into the compressed atmosphere of the nextcylinder to fire. I V

4. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,means for supplying fuel ,to each cylinder, a valve for controlling theadmission of fuel to the cyl-' inder, a pipe line communicating with theline in communication with the space above the piston of a leadingcylinder and also in communication with the means for collecting thefuel whereby the explosionv of gases in a leading cylinder will operatethe said means. v

6. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders eachhaving intake and exhaust ports and a separate gas discharge port, fuelsupply means, means for accumulating fuel furnished by said supply meansincluding a chamber having an outlet and a spring pressed valve normallycovering the said outlet, and a pipe line leading from the gas port ofeach cylinder to the chamber behind the valve of the next cylinder ofthe series to fire, the said pipe line conveying the compression ofcombustion to said chamber to unseat the valve near the end of thecompression stroke of the. said next cylinder to fire.

7 An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders eachhaving intake and exhaust ports and aseparate gas discharge port, fuelsupply means, means for accumulating fuel furnished by said supply meansincluding a chamber and a spring pressed valve normallycovering theentrance of the same, and a pipe line lead ing from the gas port of eachcylinder to the chamber behind the valve of the next cylinder of theseries to fire, and a valve plug in said pipe line for reversing theflow of gases to effect a reverse operation of the motor.

.8. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,means for sup-- plying fuel under pressure thereto, means foraccumulating a fuel charge for each cylinder in proportion to the loadincluding a fuel receiving chamber and a spring pressed valve operatingto normally close the entrance of said chamber. and a pipe line leadingfrom the space above the piston in a leading. cylinder to said fuelcollecting chamber, wherebythe pressure of exploded gases of a leadingcylinder will actuate the valve'of the following cylinder to fire torelease a fuel charge into the compressed atmosphere of said followingcylinder.

9. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,means for supplying fuel to each cylinder, means for collecting a fuelcharge for each cylinder, and pipe connections between the successivelyfiring cylinders and the means for collecting the fuel charge, andmanually controlled valves in said pipe lines for effecting the reversalof gas flow in said pipe lines to reverse the engine.

10. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders,.each cylinder having intake. and exhaust ports anda separate gas port,a valve casting fitted to the head of each cylinder and including asleeve opening into the working chamber of the sages, a spring pressedvalve mounted to normally close the end of the sleeve opening into thesaid working chamber-of the cylinder, a fuel supply inlet above saidsleeve, and a needle valve for controlling the passage of fuel throughsaid supply inlet.

11. An internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylindershaving air intake and exhaust ports controlled by the pissignature inthe tons, raw fuel supply means for each cylinder, means-for injectingan air charge into the cylinder at the beginning of the compressionstroke, and means actuated by the pressure of the gases of combustionperforming the Working stroke of one cylinder to inject the fuel chargefurnished by said raw fuel supply means into the compressed atmosphereof the next cylinder to fire, near the end of the compression stroke.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my resence of two witnesses. ,JOHNRA NGIS MURPHY. 'Witnesses:

- T. E. JAEGERs,-

S. M; HARRIS.

